December 2009 Archives

As we close this year 2009 ... all is truly but a constant beginning, ever new ...

And as we conclude our reading of the Tenzo Kyokun, there remains ongoing life and practice ...

In
these final passages, Master Dogen reminds us to be joyful, to take
care of our responsibilities like a parent for a child, and to embody
"Great Mind and Vast Heart" ...

For the first, he writes (as we saw yesterday)

Now we have the good fortune to be born as human beings ... Let us be joyous.

For "Mother Mind" he writes ...

So-called
[motherly heart] is the spirit of fathers and mothers. ... Without
regard for their own poverty or wealth, [parents] earnestly turn their thoughts
toward raising their child. Without regard for whether they themselves are cold
or hot, they shade the child or cover the child.

And for "Great Mind, Vast Heart", he states [in a good reminder for the turning year],

This vast
heart ... does not follow the sounds of spring or try to nest in a spring garden;
it does not darken with the colours of autumn. See the changes of the
seasons as all one movement, [all] in relation to each other within
a view which includes both."

He then concludes with three famous Koan stories which exemplify the point.

* * * * *

And so, from tomorrow, January 1st, we depart Beliefnet and move our home for this daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcast to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines.

I
want to thank so much Beliefnet, their editors and staff, for this past
wonderful year and all their assistance and support ...

... and wish them ... and everyone ... a most content and peaceful 2010.

___________________________

This
life we live is a life of rejoicing, this body a body of joy which can
be used to present offerings to the Three Jewels. It arises through the
merits of eons and using it thus its merit extends endlessly. I hope that
you will work and cook in this way, using this body which is the fruition
of thousands of lifetimes and births to create limitless benefit for numberless
beings. To understand this opportunity is a joyous heart because even
if you had been born a ruler of the world the merit of your actions would
merely disperse like foam, like sparks.

A
"motherly heart" is a heart which maintains the Three Jewels as a parent
cares for a child. A parent raises a child with deep love, regardless
of poverty or difficulties. Their hearts cannot be understood by another;
only a parent can understand it. A parent protects their child from heat
or cold before worrying about whether they themselves are hot or cold.
This kind of care can only be understood by those who have given rise
to it and realized only by those who practice it. This, brought to its
fullest, is how you must care for water and rice, as though they were
your own children.

The
Great Master Sakyamuni offered to us the final twenty years of his own
lifetime to protect us through these days of decline. What is this other than the
exertion of this "parental heart"? The Thus Come One did not do this hoping
to get something out of it but sheerly out of munificence.

"Vast
heart" [or "Great Mind"] is like a great expanse of ocean or a towering mountain. It views
everything from the most inclusive and broadest perspective. This vast
heart does not regard a gram as too light or five kilos as too heavy.
It does not follow the sounds of spring or try to nest in a spring garden;
it does not darken with the colours of autumn. See the changes of the
seasons as all one movement, understand light and heavy in relation to each other within
a view which includes both. When you write or study the character "vast,"
this is how you should understand
its meaning.

If
the tenzo at Jiashan had not thus studied the word "vast," he could not
have woken up Elder Fu by laughing at him [from a story in which a monk's
laughter spurred Elder Fu
on to great practice].If Zen Master Guishan had not
understand the word "vast," he would not have blown on dead firewood three
times.[from a story in fascicle
6 of the Jingde Record: Once when the teacher [Baizhang] was working with
Guishan he asked, "Have you any fire, or not?" Guishan said, "I
have." The teacher said, "Where is it?" Guishan took a stick of
wood, blew on it two or three times, and passed it to the teacher.]If the monk Dongshan had not
understood the word "vast," he could not have taught the monk through
his expression, "Three pounds of flax."[from case 18 of the koan collection
Gateless Barrier (Wumenguan):A monk asked Dongshan, "What is buddha
like?" Dongshan replied, "Three pounds of flax."]

All
of these and other great masters through the ages have studied the meaning
of "vast" or "great" not only though the word for it but through all of
the events and activities of their lives. Thus they lived as a great shout
of freedom through presenting the Great Matter, penetrating the Great
Question, training great disciples and in this way bringing it all forth
to us.

The
abbot, senior officers and staff, and all monks should always maintain
these three hearts or understandings.

(And, in case you have not heard ... after a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just as we do here. !)

( Dogen's Instructions for the Cook - XXXII)

This
world and life into which we find we were born is far from perfect,
often difficult ... yet how fortunate we are that this life is as it is
... neither heaven nor hell (though we can help make it a little bit of
each) ... but a place to care, to practice, to live ...

___________________________

In
general, the various stewards and prefects, including the cook, should maintain
a joyful mind, [a motherly heart], and a great [and vast] mind whenever they perform
rituals or engage in work.

So-called
joyful mind is the spirit of happiness. You should consider that if you were
born in a heaven, you would be attached to pleasures without cease and would
not be able to arouse the thought of enlightenment. Practice would not be
feasible. Even less would you be able to prepare meals as offerings to the
three jewels [Buddha, Dharma and Sangha]! Among the myriad dharmas, the most
revered and precious are the three jewels. The most superior things are the
three jewels. Indra cannot compare. A wheel-turning king does not equal them.
The Rules of Purity says, "Revered by the world, it is an excellent space
outside [worldly] things; pure and detached, the assembly of monks is
best." Now we have the good fortune to be born as human beings and to
prepare the food that these three jewels receive and use. Is this not of great
karmic significance? We should thus be very happy.

Again,
you should consider that if you were born into the realms of hell, hungry
ghosts, animals, anti-gods, and the like, or born in circumstances where you
suffered from one of the eight difficulties [such as being born in a place or
time where the Dharma is not practiced or taught, being born without the
faculties that would allow us to practice or locked into the views of social
conventions], even if you sought to cover yourself in the power of the sangha,
your hands would naturally be unable to prepare pure meals as offerings to the
three jewels. Relying on that painful physical form you would receive pain and
be bound in body and mind. Now, in this life, you have already prepared those
meals. How happy a birth! How happy a body! It is the good karmic result of
kalpas vast and great. It is merit that cannot decay. When you prepare food and
cook it you should do so with the aspiration of taking tens of thousands of
births and concentrating them into this one day, this one time, that you may be
able to bind together in good karmic result the bodies of millions of [past]
births. A mind that contemplates and understands things in this way is a joyful
mind. Truly, even if one takes on the body of a wheel-turning holy king, if one
does not prepare meals as offerings to the three jewels, in the end it has no
benefit. It is only of the nature of water, froth, bubbles, or flames.

Right here, right now ... this is the time and place of realization ... awakening and making it real ...

___________________________

When I observed
accomplished people in the past who held the position of cook, their personal
qualities were naturally in accord with their official roles. The Great [Teacher
Guishan Lingyou (771-853)] awakened to the way when he was a cook. Dongshan's [famous
saying] "Three pounds of hemp" [in response to the question, "What is
Buddha"] was also when he was a cook. If there is a matter that can be valued,
you should value the matter of awakening to the way. If there is a time that
can be valued, surely you should value the time of awakening to the way! The
result of cherishing that matter and being addicted to the way is attested
especially by the [story of] "grasping sand and making a jewel" [a
traditional story with a meaning such as "whatever is available at hand can be
turned into something wonderful]. We can often see the effect of making an
image [of the Buddha] and worshipping [before it]. The position of cook is
similar [in its karmic results], but even more so. Its name is the same [as in
the past]. If the cook is someone who can transmit its character and its
practice, how could its beauty and its fulfillment fail to appear?

(After a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just as we do here. )

In
the many monasteries of the mountains of Song China that I have seen, the monks
holding the various offices train in these posts for a year at a time, each of
them in each moment practicing by three standards. Firstly, to benefit others
benefits yourself. Second, make every effort to maintain and renew the monastic
environment. Third, follow the standards set forth by the examples of excellent
practitioners of past and present and come to stand with them.

You
should understand that foolish people hold their practice as if it belonged to
someone else, wise people practice with everyone as themselves.

An
ancient teacher said,

"Two-thirds
of your life has passed

without
clarifying who you are.

Eating
your life,

muddling
about in this and that,

you
don't even turn when called on.

Pathetic."

From
this verse we can see that if you have not met a true teacher, you will just
follow the lead of your tendencies. And this is pathetic. It's like the story
of the foolish son who leaves his parent's home with the family treasure and
then throws it away on a dung heap. Do not waste your opportunity as that man
did.

I would like to wish each and all members of Treeleaf, and our "Sit-a-Long" family, a Very Merry Christmas ...

.... as well as All the Happy Holidays of Peace and Goodwil, whenever and whatever they are ...

... and a Very Tranquil and Content 'Just This Very Moment' too, ever new and changing ...

Gassho and Ho Ho Ho, Jundo

------------

And, in case you have not heard ... after a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just as we do here. !

The elaborate golden robes were chosen for me ... as was the body complete with 6-Pack abs! It truly is a fantasy world!

But my son is thrilled that Papa is now a Anime character.

The
talk took place at the pretty amazing Kannonji meditation hall, with
1,300 members, from all Buddhist traditions ... some of whom are
pirates, golden fairies, meditating dogs, flying dragons and .... the
imagination is the only limit!

And ... A reminder that, after a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just as we do here. )

(After a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just as we do here. )

In the hospital for a little touch of pneumonia ,,, for a few days, doctor says.

So, please sit around the bed with me today.

When one coughs, just cough ... that too is Zazen.

Wheeze wheeze is Buddha's Teaching.

And isn't it wonderful to have a Sangha
where all can sit together when one of us is in bed sick? (I received
notes from a couple of folks who sit with our Sangha all the time in
bed due to health)

(A silent sitting today, and no bell, so please turn the sound down,as the air machine next to the bed is a bit noisy ... )

...... oh,
and we'll not be able to have a Saturday Zazenkai this week (I will
post an older recording) ... but please know we will be sitting
together anyway ... as always ...

------------

And to say again ... after a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just as we do here. !

(After a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines, where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just as we do here. )

Heading home to see family and friends always presents a few special "opportunities for Practice" at this time of year ...

And speaking of home ... after a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines,
where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just
as we do here. And, taking our spot here at Beliefnet will be a truly
wonderful Buddhist blogger ... whose name I do not wish to tell you
yet, partly for fear of spoiling the surprise! But that blog will be a wonderful addition to Beliefnet!

First, thanks to our wonderful carpenters, the new/old Zen Hall at Treeleaf in Japan is now about ready ... the tatami mats are in, the Zafus, and Buddha is in his place ... (Please see the pictures below of the interior, and the exterior in scaffolding which they are still repairing)

Second, after a lovely year here at Beliefnet.com, our daily "Sit-a-long with Jundo" Zazen netcasts will be moving home on January 1st to SHAMBHALA SUNSPACE, the webpage of the Shambhala Sun and Buddhadharma magazines,
where we will be a daily featured Buddhist blog ... sitting there just
as we do here. And, taking our spot here at Beliefnet will be a truly
wonderful Buddhist blogger ... whose name I do not wish to tell you
yet, partly for fear of spoiling the surprise! But that blog will be a wonderful addition to Beliefnet!

Hey, I think we've all worked with a guy like this at one time or another ...

... In fact, this guy is --me-- more of the time than I care to admit ...

(sorry if today's posting is late ... I was procrastinating ...)

___________________________

After I returned to Japan I stayed
at Kennin-ji for around two years. They had the office of tenzo there but it
was only nominal because no one actually carried out the real activity of this
training post. They did not understand it as the activity of Awake Awareness so
how could they have been able to use it to express the Way? Truly, it was very
sad. The tenzo there had never encountered a living one who could use the
office of tenzo as the functioning of Awake Awareness and so he carelessly
idled away, breaking the standards of practice.

I watched the tenzo there quite closely. He never actually worked at preparing
the morning and evening meals but just ordered about some rough servants,
lacking in intelligence and heart, leaving to them all the tasks whether
important or not. He never checked on whether they were working well or not, as
if it would be shameful to do so like peeping into the private quarters of a
neighbouring woman. He just hung about in his own rooms, reading sutras or
chanting when he wasn't lying down or chatting. Months would go by before he
would even come close to a pot, let alone buy utensils or make out a menu. He
did not understand that these activities are the exertion of Awareness. The
practice of donning the wrap robe and offering nine bows before sending out the
food was something he would never have even dreamed of; it just wouldn't have
occurred to him. As he himself did not understand the office of tenzo, when it
came time for him to teach a novice how to carry out the office what
understanding could be passed on? It was very regrettable. Although one might
have the fortune to hold this post, if one is without the mind which uncovers
the Way and fails to meet with one who has the virtue of the Way, it is like
returning empty-handed after climbing a mountain of treasure or entering an
ocean of jewels.

[You should know that even if he
never aroused the thought of enlightenment, if he had seen a single person who
set a worthy example he would have attained that way in his practice. And even
if he never saw a single person who set a worthy example, if his thought of
enlightenment had been profound, he would have hit upon that way in his
practice. But in actuality both were lacking, so there was no way for him to
benefit.]

Today,
I happened to hear from a couple of people who were disappointed by
someone in their lives ... friends, family members, co-workers who let
them down a bit.

Master Dogen provides a good perspective on this ...

...
Hey buddy, don't forget to look in the mirror before pointing fingers
at others ... See the dignity and worth of all people ... People are
people, and act like people ... Know that there are days when we are
all foolish, and how we were yesterday is not necessarily how we will
be tomorrow.

Also, know how to stand beyond opinions of right and wrong ...

We cannot always control what other people do to us ... but we have control over how we react to what other people do.

Suppose we are
out on a lake and it's a bit foggy-not too foggy, but a bit foggy-and
we're rowing along in our little boat having a good time. And then, all
of a sudden, coming out of the fog, there's this other rowboat and it's
heading right at us. And...crash! Well, for a second we're
really angry-what is that fool doing? I just painted my boat! And here
he comes-crash!-right into it. And then suddenly we notice that the
rowboat is empty. What happens to our anger? Well, the anger
collapses...I'll just have to paint my boat again, that's all. But if
that rowboat that hit ours had another person in it, how would we
react? You know what would happen! Now our encounters with life, with
other people, with events, are like being bumped by an empty rowboat.
But we don't experience it that way. We experience it as though there
are people in that other rowboat and we're really getting clobbered by
them. ...

___________________________

Do not
discriminate between the faults or virtues of the monks or whether they are
senior or junior. You do not even know where you stand, so how can you put
others into categories. Judging others from within the boundaries of your own
opinions, how could you be anything other than wrong? Although there are
differences between seniors and juniors [and
some have wisdom while others are foolish or dim], all are equally members of the
assembly. Those who had many faults yesterday may be correct and clear today.
Who can judge "sacred" from "common." The Zen Monastic
Standards states, "Whether foolish or wise, the fact that one trains as
a monk provides for others a gift that penetrates everywhere."

If you stand beyond opinions of right and wrong, you bring forth the practice
of actualizing unsurpassable Awakening.
If you do not, you take a wrong step
and miss what's there. The bones and marrow of the ancients was just the
exertion of such practice and those monks who train as tenzo in the future
realize the bones and marrow of the Way only through just such exertion. The
monastic rules set forth by great master Baizhang must always be maintained.

... to the "ALL_ONLINE"'Treeleaf Two-Day Rohatsu Retreat', which was held by LIVE NETCAST over the weekend of DECEMBER 5 and 6, 2009.

HOWEVER, you may still join the Retreat and sit-a-long atANY TIME 'ON DEMAND', by the real time recorded version below (no different from the original!). The full sitting schedule is below, and you may download our Chant Book here, and various retreat pointers here.

Recordings of each segment are posted below in time order ... and if we drop from mind all thought of 'now' 'then' 'here' and 'there' ... we will all be sitting together right when and where you are!

This Retreat is especially dedicated to my Teacher, Gudo Wafu Nishijima, who turned 90 years old this week!

We thank Rev. Taigu
for coming all the way by train from the other side of Japan to join
us. However, because of a delay in his travels, please excuse his
absence during part of the first day.

In case of technical problems. please just go along as best you can with the schedule ... we sit with "what is".. .

OF COURSE, EVERYTHING IN MODERATION
... if the sitting ever feels too much, be sure to walk lots and lots
of Kinhin (even if during a sitting period). And if the whole retreat
becomes too much, or you feel ill, you may slow down ... , spread
things out, shorten the sittings ... or STOP! Be sure that you have
someone close by whom you can call, or who can check on you from time
to time. If there is any question about health, do not take any chances.

06:00-06:40
AM Zazen Begin sitting without instruction. If you usually wear a
Rakusu, DO NOT wear it yet (keep it in its bag) until Takkesage (Kesa
Verse) later in morning.06:40-07:00 Long (20 minute) Kinhin*07:00-07:35 Zazen07:35-07:45 Kinhin

07:45-08:25 Zazen + Kesa Verse When instructed, place on Kesa and recite Kesa Verse. All others, hands in Gassho.08:25-08:55
"Long" Service Please follow along in the Sutra Books that will be
provided. Floor prostrations when hear ching-ching-ching-ching- ching
roll of bell.08:55-09:20 REST PERIOD

NOTE TO EVERYONE SITTING THE RETREAT: Please
look at the sitting time schedule(to be the same aslast year HERE) and plan out which recorded periods you will sit,
and which live versions you will be able to sit and when in your time Zone. Not so complex to figure out once you
look at the schedule.

I
hope that many folks will elect to sit "real time" with Taigu and me.
If sitting "real time", the retreat should
encompass most all of your Saturday and Sunday (starting 6am, although
you may join us a bit on your Friday night too if you wish) in most of
Europe and North America, until late in the evening. The way to accomplish that is for everyone
to sit a combination of "live" and "recorded" segments over the
weekend. In other words, some activities you can join live and other
activities (because they happened in the middle of the night where you
are, during your sleep time) you can do with the recording (while it is
the middle of the night in Japan and Taigu and I are sleeping!)

See how that works!

__________________

We will 'be dancing' a simple Oryoki for our'Treeleaf Two-Day Online Retreat' scheduled for LIVE NETCAST over this weekend of DECEMBER 5 and 6, 2009 (and available in recorded form after that, for participation any time 'On Demand'). ...

... Traditional Oryoki practice
consists of scores of set movements for eating, each of which must be
learned and mastered, much like a ballet. Here is a small sample, this
merely for wiping and repacking the spoon, chopsticks and settsu (bowl washing stick) at the end of the meal ...

1)
Pick up spoon in right hand with the handle pointing toward you. Put it
in your left hand. Pick up setsu with right hand; put bowl of spoon
into water in middle bowl and clean it with setsu. Do both sides. Hold
spoon straight.

2)
Put setsu in middle bowl, pointing straight out. Put spoon in right
hand. With left hand, fold the exposed corner of the drying cloth over
the bowl of the spoon without taking the cloth out of the Buddha bowl.
Wipe bowl of spoon; turn spoon 180 degrees so bowl is pointing toward
you and push it through cloth.

3)
Spoon is now in your right hand, bowl down and pointing left. Without
picking up utensil holder, slide spoon into it. (The opening in utensil
holder should be on your right, with the fold on the left.)

4) Repeat steps 1) and 2) above with chopsticks.

5)
In left hand pick up folded utensil holder that contains spoon. Slide
sticks into utensil holder, toward you. Work utensils to bottom with
right hand. Do not let utensils drop of their own weight.

6)
Fold over the utensil holder and replace it in front of you, this time
with the opening on the left. The pointed half is on top, with the
opening down (not visible). Fold is now on the right.

We will be doing a simplified, sometimes improvised and creative
version but, I hope, no less mindful. The attitude and spirit are the
most important.

We will be making a simple 'Oryoki set for our'Treeleaf Two-Day Online Retreat' scheduled for LIVE NETCAST over this coming weekend of DECEMBER 5 and 6, 2009 (and available in recorded form after that, for participation any time 'On Demand').

But I would like to mention food for the Retreat: We are each our own Tenzo
(temple cook). I would prepare in advance simple yet nutritious foods
(something that can be easily heated and served, as we do not have much
time for cooking during the Retreat). Food is to be looked upon as
medicine, support for our Zazen. All thought of luxury or poverty, good
and bad, should be placed aside. We eat small, simple dishes ... in
moderation. I would prepare a plain breakfast cereal, juice and perhaps
tea for breakfast, and simple rice dishes, vegetable soups and steamed
vegetables for lunch/dinner. Do not eat to fill oneself, and just what
is healthful and necessary. Tea/Coffee and healthy snacks can be taken
freely, in moderation, during break times.

Going to
the toilet is nature, is life, is Practice, is Zazen. All the Buddhas
and Ancestors had to pee and poo, and so do you. But how we do our duty
makes all the difference!

Master Dogen devoted an entire chapter of Shobogenzo to
latrine procedures ... and during our Retreat we should see going to
the toilet as a sacred ritual. First, drop all thought of "clean" and
"dirty" ... flush such discriminatory ideas away!
However, even as we drop all idea of "clean" and "dirty", we try to
stay clean (we are always working on several levels in Zen) ... so, if
wearing a Rakusu, remove it and hang it outside the toilet room before entering. Then Gassho 3x (or, if you wish, do full prostrations 3x) toward the door of the toilet room and recite the following (by Ven. Thich Naht Hanh):

Defiled or immaculate,

increasing or decreasing--

these concepts exist only in our mind.

The reality of interbeing is unsurpassed.

Of course, maintain
silence in the bog. No reading material and, while one need not assume
the Full Lotus Posture on the commode, one should do one's business
with the sense of stillness-in-motion and non-attaining that is Zazen. Go with with Flow!

Truly, peeing is only action in that moment, a perfect act complete unto itself ... it is not you peeing, or even the whole universe peeing in that instant (although it is that too) ... for 'tis Just Peeing.
On exiting, bow again 3x to the toilet door and recite ...

Using the toilet I vow with all beings To eliminate defilement Removing greed, anger and ignorance.

Then be sure to wash you hands (there is something to recite for that as well) ...
By the way, a similar ritual should be performed prior to entering the bath or shower. In that case, please recite ...

Bathing the body,

may all living beings

be clean in body and mind,

pure and shining within and without.

We
will have similar recitals (called "Gatha") for use when brushing the
teeth, washing the face and hands. They will be printed in our "Chant
Book", available for download for use during the Retreat (27 Pages
PDF).